DE 29 33 436 C2 discloses for example a multilayer ID card containing an application-neutral, high security quality printed image, for example a guilloche pattern produced by steel gravure printing, on a paper substrate onto which user-related data, for example a photograph or other individualizing data, are copied directly by an electrophotographic method to connect said data with the paper substrate undetachably and untamperably. Said substrate is then laminated with transparent cover foils to form the ID card. The method can also be used in connection with other documents, papers of value, shares, etc., requiring protection.
The only possibility of forgery is unauthorized personalization of original blanks printed with the application-neutral printed image, but this can be prevented by accordingly safe storage of said blanks. Total forgery of the high security quality printed paper blanks is also impossible. The described method is therefore expedient whenever the forgery-proofness and tamper-proofness of document and data must be ensured, on the one hand, but the individual data are to be applied with relatively simple means, on the other hand.
The same interest in tamper- and forgery-proofness as well as simple individualizability exists for application of individual data to passport pages and labels to be stuck to passport pages, so-called visa stickers, and in addition in connection with documents accompanying goods, customs documents, authenticity certificates in the form of stickers or tags or labels, vouchers, admission tickets, checks, shares and deeds.
Data pages of passports and visa stickers are frequently provided with nonvariable prints produced by intaglio printing. For example, the header of such documents specifies the national emblem and the name of a country which are not overprinted since they might otherwise be at least partly concealed by the overprint. Individual and/or user-related data are therefore printed at other places using a laser printer, daisy-wheel or ink jet printer for example.